Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Better Labeling of Major Food Allergens
A bill awaiting the President's signature would require that all U.S. food products identify in plain English the presence of major food allergens—and foster federal research on the incidence and impacts of food allergies.
- Health & Medicine
Birthing age and ovarian cancer risk
Giving birth confers on women some protection against ovarian cancer, and the later in life the last pregnancy happens, the better the protection.
- Anthropology
Chimps mature with human ancestor
The Stone Age human ancestor Homo erectus grew at about the same pace as wild chimpanzees today do.
- Humans
Letters from the July 31, 2004, issue of Science News
More than child’s play? While reading about the amazing properties of Archimedes’ Stomachion (“Glimpses of Genius,” SN: 5/15/04, p. 314: Glimpses of Genius), I wondered whether a mere child’s toy would exhibit such mathematical precision, with each vertex falling on a lattice point of a 12-by-12 grid. Perhaps Archimedes took the basic plan of the […]
- Humans
From the July 21, 1934, issue
Artificial lightning surpasses nature's own, Dutch Elm disease attacks trees in eastern states, and zinc found to be an essential part of animal diet.
- Health & Medicine
Potential Block for Epilepsy: Researchers find new drug target
Using genetically engineered mice, scientists have identified a new target in the brain for drugs that could prevent epilepsy.
- Health & Medicine
Suicide Watch: Antidepressants get large-scale inspection
Data from the United Kingdom indicate that depressed patients attempt and complete suicides at an elevated rate in the 3 months after starting to take any of four antidepressant drugs.
- Health & Medicine
Seeing Red and Finding Fraudulent Fish
The sale of falsely labeled fish has implications for health, nutrition, and the environment.
- Humans
Letters from the July 24, 2004, issue of Science News
Whee! I can pretty easily tell what was going through the kiddo’s mind while trying “in vain to scoot down a miniature slide” (“Toddlers’ Supersize Mistakes: At times, children play with the impossible,” SN: 5/15/04, p. 308: Toddlers’ Supersize Mistakes: At times, children play with the impossible). 1. “Slides are fun. Why not pretend to […]
- Health & Medicine
New cholesterol guidelines advise more treatment
Citing results from five recent trials of anticholesterol statin drugs, U.S. health officials recommend that physicians use the drugs to treat many more patients with high cholesterol.
- Archaeology
Seeds of agriculture move back in time
Excavations in Israel indicate that people began to eat large quantities of wild grass seeds and wild cereal grains by around 23,000 years ago, which pushes back by 10,000 years the estimated shift to a plant-rich diet.
- Humans
From the July 14, 1934, issue
Desert plants cope with permanent drought, study of twins gives clues to epilepsy, and airplanes collect weather information in flight.
